Sports movies are a favorite of Hollywood because the lives of great athletes are wilder than fiction. There are also few other things in the world as universal as the love of sports. Admiration for sports stars also comes from how many of them begin as underdogs. These stories impart some of the athlete's self-belief onto the viewer, convincing them of their unlocked potential, and that they too can achieve great things if they adopt an athlete's work ethic.
That is not to say the life of every athlete is a path to glory. For others, their sport gives them a platform to channel the tempests raging inside them. When not winning championships or performing acts of heroic physical performance, the darkness they're harboring endures. In the arena of one's personal life, this volatile energy becomes less herculean and more tragic.
McFarland, USA (7.4)
After losing his temper and injuring a player, Jim White loses his job and must move to McFarland, California, to work as an assistant football coach for a mostly Latino school. Rebuked for his choice to pull a potentially injured player off the field, Jim loses his new job, but recognizes many of the players are fast runners, so he appeals to the school's principal to form a cross-country track team.
Contending between his discontented family, who wish they could move out of their Latino neighborhood, and his belief in the skills of his newly formed team, Jim's perseverance and determination overcome these racial divides and push the team to win the state championship.
Fearless (7.6)
Jet-Li stars in this martial arts epic, depicting the life of Huo Yuanjia, who is renowned as a Chinese national hero that organized and dominated Wushu matches with foreign fighters. His success as a martial artist in the late 19th and early 20th century came at a time when China was experiencing cultural erosion from the influence of other countries.
Yuanjia's story is an allegory for a resurgence in China's cultural identity. From start to finish, the movie has numerous beautifully choreographed fight scenes that are a marvel for action and sports fans alike.
Moneyball (7.6)
Adapted from the book of the same name, Moneyball depicts how the 2002 Oakland Athletics baseball team revolutionized the sport, reaching the divisional finals with a roster of newcomers and journeymen and on a shoestring budget.
General manager Billy Beane must assemble a winning team with next to no money, so he takes a chance on the unorthodox approach to scouting undervalued players from Yale economics graduate, Peter Brand. Encountering friction from Athletics' owners, Beane schemes against his bosses to keep his roster intact, whilst they continue to battle it out on the baseball field.
The Blind Side (7.6)
Featuring an ensemble of former NCAA coaches, The Blind Side tells the story of football linebacker Michael "Big Mike" Oher's ascension from foster child to number one draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens. In the racially divided state of Tennessee where Mike grows up, a compassionate woman named Leigh Anne notices Mike's hardships and through continuous acts of kindness, informally adopts him.
For those part of the rich, white, upper-class circle Leigh Anne is a part of, they cannot comprehend her empathy for the large, brooding young man. Leigh Anne dismisses them, recognizing Mike's protective nature and helping him unlock it on the football field.
The Hurricane (7.6)
Many sports dramas have more to say than celebrating the accomplishments of the athletes they depict, and The Hurricane is no exception.
Following the trials and tribulations of middleweight boxer Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, after he is wrongly accused of a triple homicide, his career as a boxer serves more as a backdrop to the film. Instead, its focus is on the civil rights issues and systemic racism that ensnared Carter. Starring a searing performance from Denzel Washington, the film is a testament to the inequities of the Black experience.
Remember The Titans (7.8)
Portraying the heroics of Black coach, Herman Boones, who made it his mission to integrate the T.C. Williams High School football team, Remember the Titans uses the collegial ethic of team sports as an allegory about overcoming racial divide.
The film constantly places its characters against all odds. In the dying moments, however, their belief in one another leads them to victory. Contrary to a lot of sports films, Remember the Titans also has some sharply choreographed football scenes, the last of which is shot in monumental and epic torrential rain.
The Fighter (7.8)
While many talented athletes are exceptional in their sport, the sad reality is that outside the arena of their craft, their personal lives are often chaotic. Such is the case of boxer Dicky Eklund, whose former glory of going the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard fades in the shadow of his current addiction to crack cocaine. His best days behind him, Dicky now trains his brother Micky Ward, who is trying to transcend his role as gatekeeper of the welterweight division.
The implications of family drama and his brother's drug addiction hold Micky back from unlocking his true potential, presenting him with the tough decision of whether to prioritize his career interests over those of his crumbling family. Even if you're not a boxing fan, the performances from a frighteningly skinny Christian Bale and statuesque Mark Wahlberg are worthy of your attention.
Cinderella Man (8)
Everybody loves a comeback story. Considered to be a washed-up boxer after breaking his hand in the ring, real-life boxer James Braddock is down and out as he transitions out of the sport during the Great Depression. Destitute and desperate, James' former manager secures him a one-off fight so James can earn some much-needed cash. To everyone's surprise, he wins by a stunning early knockout.
James' tough luck turns out to be his good fortune since it leads him back to the ring. As he edges nearer to heavyweight title contention, journalists learn of his rise from an impoverished dockworker to the latest boxing star, nicknaming him the "Cinderella Man."
Rush (8.1)
A high-adrenaline race movie that focuses on the rivalry between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, Rush interweaves its high stakes action with existential melodrama. Lauda's trajectory as F1 champion suffers several derailments that have him questioning whether he prefers to preserve his love life and health over fame and success.
Hunt prospers from Lauda's setbacks, embracing dangerous risks that will put him ahead of Lauda and seal his fate as champion. Their rivalry as competitors also mirrors their opposing personalities off the track.
Raging Bull (8.2)
The tragic tale of boxer and anti-hero Jake LaMotta, whose penchant for violence was the key to his success in the ring but destroyed his relationships outside of it, Raging Bull is the preeminent achievement of beloved American director Martin Scorsese.
From the soaring heights of defeating Sugar Ray Robinson and later becoming world champion, LaMotta eventually sinks to the status of a lonesome obese comedian estranged from anyone who ever loved him. The lifelong self-belief and paranoia that sabotaged his life resound in his closing mantra: "You're the champ, you're the champ, you're the champ."